2 Kings 8:20
Ver. 20. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah,.... Who had been tributary to Judah ever since the times of David, for the space of one hundred and fifty years:and made a king over themselves; for though they are said to have kings, those were only deputy kings, as in 1Ki 22:47 and now the prediction of Isaac began to be accomplished, Ge 27:40. 2 Kings 8:21Ver. 21. So Joram went over to Zair,.... A city in Edom, the same with the Zaara of Ptolemy {i}; some take it to be the same with Seir, the mountain or country of that name:and all the chariots with him; all the chariots of war he had:and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about; who came out of their cities in great numbers, and surrounded him, he having entered into their country in an hostile way, to subdue them:and the captains of the chariots: which belonged to the Edomites; those he smote, 2Ch 21:9and the people fled into their tents; the army being routed.{i} Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. 2 Kings 8:22Ver. 22. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day,.... Joram not pursuing the enemy, and taking the advantage of the victory, but returning to his own land, the reason of which follows:then Libnah revolted at the same time; a considerable city in his own kingdom, a Levitical one; this revolt was occasioned, perhaps, by his idolatrous practices, and which he compelled his subjects to; of this city, see Jos 10:29. 2 Kings 8:23Ver. 23. And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?] Not in the canonical book of Chronicles, though some of his acts are recorded there, see 2Ch 21:1 but in the annals of the kings of Judah, written by persons appointed for that purpose. 2 Kings 8:24Ver. 24. And Joram slept with his fathers,.... Died as they did:and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; but not in the sepulchres of the kings, and without any funeral pomp, and without any mourning and lamentation for him, he being not beloved, and his life not at all desirable, 2Ch 21:19,and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead; of whom more is said in the following verses. 2 Kings 8:25Ver. 25. In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. He is called Jehoahaz, and said to be the youngest son of Jehoram, 2Ch 21:17. 2 Kings 8:26Ver. 26. Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign,.... In 2Ch 22:2 he is said to be forty two years of age; for the solution of that difficulty See Gill on "2Ch 22:2":and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; which was the whole of his reign:and his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel; that is, his granddaughter; for she was the daughter of Ahab the son of Omri, 2Ki 8:18, it was usual for grandchildren to be called children, sons and daughters, and perhaps she might be educated in the family of Omri. 2 Kings 8:27Ver. 27. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as [did] the house of Ahab,.... Worshipping the calves, and Baal also:for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab; he was the son of Jehoram, who was son-in-law to Ahab, having married his daughter, which accounts for his being guilty of the same idolatrous practices. 2 Kings 8:28Ver. 28. And he went with Joram the son of Ahab,.... His mother's brother, and so his uncle:to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; which he went to recover out of the hands of the king of Syria, as his father Ahab had attempted in his time; in which he was assisted by Jehoshaphat, as now Joram was by a grandson of his:and the Syrians wounded Joram; as they did his father Ahab at the same place, though his wound was not mortal, as his father's was. 2 Kings 8:29Ver. 29 And King Joram went back,.... From Ramoth, having taken it, and left his army there:to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah; the same with Ramothgilead:when he fought against Hazael king of Syria; for Benhadad being dead, he was now king in his room, 2Ki 8:15and Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick; of the wounds which he had received, which might occasion a feverish disorder; and so it was brought about in Providence that Ahaziah should here meet with the destruction appointed for him, of which in the following chapter. See2Ch 22:7.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.